国际英语新闻:Japan enacts controversial security laws amid strong opposition

Akira Koike, vice chair of the Japan Communist Party, recalled in his final statement that 84 years ago, the then Japanese military's autocratic rule led to the country's aggression against China.

The war Japan waged in the past has brought agony to its Asian neighbors, he said, emphasizing that the bills are unconstitutional.

For his part, the prime minister told reporters after the vote that the result laid necessary legislation for Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense.

The ruling camp will continue to explain the laws to the Japanese public, Abe said.

When the Abe-led ruling bloc rammed the bills through the upper house, tens of thousands of protesters rallied around the national Diet building demanding the prime minister's resignation and the retract of the bills. Similar demonstrations were held in other cities like Nagoya and Hiroshima.

Shingo Fukuyama, a member of the Anti-War Committee of 1,000, told Xinhua before the vote outside the Diet building that the Japanese Constitution clearly states that Japan renounces war, but the security bills pushed by Abe will change Japan into a country that could wage wars overseas. "That's why we are here to protest against the bills."

According to the committee, about 40,000 opponents of the security legislation rallied around the Diet building before its forced passage in the upper house.

Opponents of the security legislation held demonstrations on a daily basis. On Aug. 30, more than 120,000 people rallied here against the legislation while hundreds of similar demonstrations were held across Japan, involving about 1 million participants.

A college student from Japan's top-ranked Kyoto University said that what the prime minister is doing is overstating the so-called "China threat" -- cheating the public by claiming that China prepares to attack Japan -- so as to gain more support for his security bills.

"Actually, I hope I can work with the Chinese people to establish a harmonious society," he told Xinhua before the upper house vote.

A poll released earlier this week showed that 68 percent of the respondents opposed to the passage of the controversial bills during the current Diet session through Sept. 27. About 54 percent said that they opposed the bills, compared with 29 percent who showed their support.